Auctions are us (or more WoW fun)

I figured I would continue to write about my experiences with WoW; hopefully this is entertaining, if for no other reason than getting the perspective of a newbie.

I gave my priest mining and herbalism professions because I figured a dwarf should mine for gold (or gems or something), and I had seen enough silverleaf and peacebloom that I figured picking herbs would be an easy way to make some money.  Besides, it just seemed like gathering rocks and plants in between my travels would be more entertaining than crafting items.  Of course I could be wrong, because I have been wrong about a lot of WoW things lately.

I am almost afraid to write that I never thought that I would actually spend time in a game mining for gold, but things change.  In fact, I swore that I would not waste my time mining for gold, but last weekend I spent a few hours just traveling looking for minerals and herbs as I was going from point A to point B.  The end result was that I collected enough items to give the Auction House a try.

If you have never used WoW’s Auction House, it can be a little intimidating.  Where do you start?  How much should you list an item for and should you list a buy out price?  What is a good deal?  How are required deposits calculated and how are final auction expenses determined?  And so on.  I could probably find most of this in the manual, or on one of the many helpful sites I have come across, but I had not read anything about the Auction House other than some general information, so I did not really know what to expect.

Of course you cannot learn with out trying, so for my first auctions last Saturday night, I figured I would list my items somewhere between what a vendor would give me and a little less than the suggested start price (in most cases 2-3sp for my goods).  I did not search for items to see what the going rate was for the items I wanted to unload, which I later learned was a mistake; I should have did a quick search before putting my items up for bid.  For my first haul, I received the following per item (full item stacks, medium length auction, includes final price after auction house expense) – peacebloom 2.30sp, earthroot 4.79sp, and copper bar 2.78sp.  The earthroot and copper bar were priced much too low as I found out in my next round of auctions.

Last Sunday night I setup a few more auctions, this time searching for the going rate, and also providing a reasonable buy out amount.  By reasonable I mean that I put my prices right in line with current auctions, if not a little below.  I received the following per item (full item stacks, medium length auctions, includes final price after auction house expense) – silverleaf 3.25sp, peacebloom (no bids), earthroot 24.55 (a 500% increase over the first auction), and copper bar 71.65 (a whopping 2,500% increase over the first auction).

The bottom line is that in addition to the game mechanics, there is a whole economy to learn.  It is really good stuff, and for low level characters, the Auction House can be a useful way to earn some quick coin.  After all, why not mine or garden (or even skin, although I have not tried that one yet) while you are out questing?

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